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STANDARD WHI.11a, b
The student will demonstrate knowledge of major civilizations of the Western Hemisphere, including the Mayan, Aztec, and
Incan by
a) describing geographic relationship, with emphasis on patterns of development in terms of climate and physical features.
b) describing cultural patterns and political and economic structures
Mesoamerican Civilizations
(Mexico to South America)
MAYA, AZTEC, and INCA
Olmec 1300 B.C.The first civilization of Mesoamerica
They were located in the hot and swampy lowlands along the coast of the
Gulf of Mexico south of Veracruz.
They had large cities that were centers for religious rituals.
They carved colossal stone heads
They may have been to represent
their ancestors or gods.
Teotihuacán
Was the first major city in Mesoamerica
Arose around 250 B.C. and collapsed about 800 A.D.
May have had as many as 200,000 inhabitants at its height.
Has a main thoroughfare, known as the Avenue of the Dead, had two main temples.
The Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon.
Mayan civilization 300-900 A.D.
• Located in the Mexican and Central American
rain forest
• Represented by Chichén Itzá
• Group of city-states ruled by a king (chief)
• Economy based on agriculture and trade
• Polytheistic religion—Pyramids
Yucatán Peninsula
-Maya were found in the Yucatan Peninsula and Part of Guatemala
-largest Mayan city was Tikal
-Copan
Maya: Between 300 and 900 A.D.
-Flourished during this time. We do not know why it fell into decline. The Maya abandoned their cities,
we do not know why.
Political and Social Structure
Cities-Were built around a central pyramid
Pyramid-Was topped with a shrine to the gods.
City-States-Each governed by a hereditary ruling class
SOCIAL CLASSES
Tikal, Guatemala
Mayan Kings
-Ruled the Mayan Kingdom
They claimed they were divine
Were assisted by nobles and a class of scribes
Made special blood sacrifices to maintain the kingdom.
People
-Included townspeople, skilled artisans, officials, and merchants.
Many people were peasant farmers who worked on terraced hillsides farming.
Men did the fighting and hunting, women made cornmeal and were responsible for
homemaking and raising children.
Religion
The Maya were Polytheistic with over 160 gods.
They believed that all of life was in the hands of a divine power.
They were responsible for pleasing the gods.
Their gods were ranked in order of importance, the Jaguar was the god of night and was
seen as evil.
The Maya practiced human sacrifice to appease their gods.
Human sacrifice was also used to mark special occasions.
When a king ascended to the throne war captives were tortured and beheaded to mark
the occasion. Below is the god of rain on the left and god of death on the right.
Accomplishments
Language
The Maya developed an independent Hieroglyphic
language.
The Spanish destroyed most of the Mayan writings. They
were not seen as having any value. Their language was not
translated until the 20th century.
Calendar
The Maya developed a calendar that had two
different parts.
It had a solar calendar with 365 days, divided
into 18 months with 20 days each with 5 extra
days at the end.
A Lunar calendar and a Calendar based on the
movement of the Planet Venus. This was a
sacred calendar with 260 days and 13 weeks of
20 days each.
The Mayan calendar says our present world
was created in 3114 B.C. and the current world
will end on December 23 2012 A.D.
Mayan Intellectual and Artistic
Achievements
• Math
– Priests decided
ceremony times
– Numbering system
included zero
End of the Maya
• Around 900 A.D., Mayan cities abandoned – don’t
know why
– Frequent warfare causes Mayans to abandon
homes
– Overpopulation = over farming = abandoning
homes
– Peasant revolts from heavy taxing
Aztec civilization 1250-1522 A.D.
• Located in arid valley in central Mexico
• Represented by Tenochtitlan
• Ruled by an emperor
• Economy based on agriculture and tribute from conquered peoples
• Polytheistic religion with pyramids/rituals
The Aztec began c. 13th century A.D.
Began a long migration that brought them into the Valley of Mexico.
They established their capital city at Tenochtitlán.
Tenochtitlán
An Aztec legend said that when the people found their new home they would see an eagle perched on a
cactus holding a snake. They saw this in lake Texcoco.
Their city was built up on rafts made from reeds and covered with dirt. They were called chinampas. PresentDay Mexico-City is built on top of this city. The original was destroyed by the Spanish.
Lake Texcoco-Swampy lake that was the home of the capital city. Tenochtitlán means the Place of the Prickly
Pear Cactus.
Political and Social Structure
By 1500 there were about 4 million people in the Aztec Empire.
Aztec Emperor
Ruled over the Aztec Empire.
Was the supreme leader of the people.
He claimed that he was divine.
People
Made up of commoners, indentured workers, and slaves.
Most people were farmers, but they also traded with people in the surrounding areas.
Men were to be the warriors, while a woman’s role was to be in the home. Women were
allowed to own and inherit property and enter contracts. Women wove textiles and raised
children. They could also be priestesses.
Religion
Had a polytheistic religion based on warfare.
Huitzilopochtli
Their chief god. He was the god of the sun. The Aztec
offered him human sacrifice to give him strength to battle the forces of darkness each
night so that he could rise each morning.
Quetzalcoatl
The feathered Serpent
He believed he had left the valley of
Mexico and promised to return in triumph.
They believed Cortes was him Coming Back.
Human Sacrifice
Each Aztec city contained a pyramid where they
practiced human sacrifice as a way to postpone
the end of the world.
Aztec Religion- Human Sacrifice
• Human sacrifice
– About 20,000 per year
– Bodies taken to the top of pyramids ,chests were cut
open, heart ripped out, and body thrown off
– Mostly prisoners of war, some slaves, some nobles
– Constant warfare necessary to have enough
prisoners of war around to sacrifice
– Some historians say bodies were sometimes eaten
by royalty
Destruction of the Aztec
The subjugation of the people of the Aztec
Empire bred hatred and discontent among the
people. When the Spanish arrived they did
not have a difficult time finding allies to fight
the Aztec.
Hernán Cortés 1519
Spanish Conquistador who came to the valley of Mexico in 1519 with 550 soldiers and 16
horses. He was at first greeted by the Aztec Emperor Montezuma (Moctezuma). The
Spanish later kidnapped the Emperor and made him a puppet(False Ruler). The people
rebelled and the Emperor was killed. The Spanish barely escaped.
The Spanish returned several months later. Many of the natives had fallen ill with
Smallpox. Cortés and his allies destroyed the Aztec capital and subjugated the Aztec
people.
Incan civilization 1200-1532 A.D.
• Located in the Andes Mountains of South America
• Represented by Machu Picchu
• Ruled by an emperor
• Economy based on high-altitude agriculture
• Polytheistic religion
• Road system
Late 1300's Inca
The Inca started as a small group that were located in Cuzco (eventual capital city). They
did not begin to become powerful until after the fall of the Moche of Peru.
Pachacuti
Unified the Inca and established the Inca Empire.
Organization of the Empire
Incan state was built on war.
The conquered peoples were all taught the same language.
Each region was appointed a governor who answered to the
Emperor.
Road System: 24, 800 miles of Road
The Inca built roads to unify their people. Roads made travel
and communication throughout the empire more efficient.
There were rest houses and storage depots along with bridges
to span ravines and waterways.
Religion
• Polytheistic
• Part of everyday life,
every month had a festival
– Chief god was Inti, the Sun
God
– Chosen Women dedicated
their lives to serving the
sun god
Government
• Ruled by an Emperor called the Sapa Inca and
had absolute control
– Divine – the son of the sun
– Chief religious leader
– Gold was his symbol and the “sweat of the sun”
• The Queen was called the Coya
– Performed religious functions
– Served in absence of Sapa Inca
Chosen Women
• Servants on earth of the Sun God, Inti
• Specially chosen as girls, trained, and housed near
the temple
• After training, either married a noble, served the
royal family, or become one of the Chosen Women
• Made the clothes of the Sapa Inca and Coya since
Sapa Inca could not wear the same clothes twice
Culture
Were required to marry from within their own social group.
Women were expected to live at home, the only alternative was to be a priestess.
Most people were farmers, they also herded llamas and alpacas.
Quipu-A system of knotted strings used by the Inca to keep records.
Great Builders
They had great buildings made of stone held
without mortar. Their roads also show their
ability as great builders.
Machu Picchu
City built at 8,000 ft above sea level.
Terrace farming- creative farming
To adapt to the environment
Defeat
The Spanish arrived in 1531
1531: Francisco Pizarro
Spanish Conquistador led a band of 180 men with
superior weapons.
The Inca, like the Aztec, were devastated by disease.
Smallpox
Devastated the Population
Civil War
After the death of the Inca Emperor a civil war broke out, Pizarro took advantage and defeated
the people.
Defeat
Pizarro and his men established Lima as the new capital of the Spanish Colony in 1535.